The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1887-01-19

roads are run in straight lines, hills are
tunneled or leveled, and all obstruc-
tons removed to accomplish the de-
sired end; hedges adorn the railroads
on either side, and stations are sur
rounded with laid-out well-decorated
flower-beds. English scenery is charm
ing and beautiful to behold as one
rides along. The hills are not as high
and valleys not as deep as in New
England, so, with no heavy forests or
underbrush, more extended scope is
obtained. / was reminded of our Con-
necticut river valley meadows, so regu-
lar in lines was the land laid out for
different crops. In France and Ger
many the same appears, only a more
level country, and in the fields dill
gently working-for every inch of good
land is worked there-may be seen
peasants in the shape of women,
elderly men, small boys and girls, the
young men being conscripted and in
the army For day of ten hours a
woman in Germany working in the
fields gets fifteen to thirty cents, man
twenty to fifty cents, machinists and
carpenters seventy cents to 81, and
masons 81. Operatives in mills and
thousands that run looms and other
machines by hand or foot in garrets,
back kitchens and parlors, and live on
sour-krout, black bread and beer, work
| long hours for the same low wages,
producing all the time a surplus of
goods which find an outlet in this coun-
try, in spite of high tariff, and are sold
oftentimes at loss, simply because
they must be disposed of. What would
become of our working-people if free
trade was established? Land in En-
gland, under landlord and tenant regu-
lations, is not as successfully cultivated
as when worked by the owner. The
system of travelling abroad without
checks for your baggage is annoying,
and keeps one chasing at the heels of a
porter, whom you all the time fear may
turn corner so suddenly that he and
your baggage may be lost sight of in
! the crowd forever. Legal rates for
cab and porter service are established,
but all that do you a service in any ca
pacty expect more than the law allows,
and usually get it, so the traveller often
finds in a single day that his siXpences
and shillngs are all gone. In expenses
one can travel abroad cheaper than he
can in this country, and he can also
make it cost more than luxurious
travelling here. l was not pleased with
the table d'hote dinners as rule, for
one is compelled to sit at the table an
hour and more and dishes are served
only in course. There is no going
backward on a bill of fare when the
dish is served, and no anticipating a
dish but waiting, so methodical is the
service. No one eats pie at the same
time his next neighbor is being served
with soup. Restaurants are numerous
and conducted in the same manner as
in this country-order what you like
and pay accordingly. Ice is a luxury
and never furnished unless specially
ordered. The system of furnishing
candles for your bedroom at hotels
and a charge for the same, with no
soap for washing, are silly customs.
Water is not used as a beverage. In
some sections the article is tasteless
and not thirst-quenching like spring.
water that flows from New England
hills, hence the inclination to drink
something else. Telegraphy in England
is much cheaper than in America; the
rates throughout the United Kingdom
are sixpence twelve and one-half
cents) for twelve words, a half-penny
Zone cent? every additional word. In
shopping one buys oftentimes more
than he needs because it is cheap, and
soon gets tired of it, and so it's ques-
ton whether it is not better to buy
what you want and when you want it
and pay the price. American news
papers publish more in detail happen
ings in England, while English papers
devote line or two only to American
news; and that's mostly telling of ca
,, lamities at home, such as more earth
quakes, which makes one feel comfort
able and happy travelling for his health
!, in foreign country. Weather in En-
! gland is uncertain, and with a bright
, sun at starting rain may come before
you have crossed the street, so while
, Yankees are inclined to look upon the
carrying of an umbrella by Englishmen
as snobbsh, the habit is inherited. !
, did not see in all my travels light
,, running wagon for pleasure-riding like
= a Brewster; neither did | see what we
, call - on the road driving" such as
, shows up in Central Park, New York
and on Brighton road, out of Boston
every day. The carriages are all cart.
= wheel affairs, with heavy trappings fol-
horses, and look cumbersome. Fogs il
: England no American can have any
: conception of by reading or hearsay
T but when | tell you that at two O'Clock
by supposed daylight l dined at the
, house of gentleman near Manchester
= by gas-light, and friends could not dis
6 tinguish one another across the street
> | state a fact my wife doubts, because
she has never visited England.